Traditional Medicine as a Treatment for Type II Diabetes Mellitus

Diabetes is a common life-long health condition. It is a serious and costly metabolic disease which is now one of a growing concern in the whole world including the Republic of Palau. There are two main types of diabetes: Type I diabetes and type II diabetes mellitus (T2DM). People living with diabetes may have to deal with short-term or long-term complications as a result of their condition. Short-term complications include hypoglycaemia diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), and hyperosmolar hyperglycaemic state (HHS). Long-term complications include how diabetes affects your eyes (retinopathy), heart (cardiovascular disease), kidneys (nephropathy), and nerves and feet (neuropathy). In the islands, T2DM or lifestyle diabetes has been a major cause of injury and low life expectancy. Recent studies in Palau have highlighted some traditional plant based medicine that can treat T2DM by lowering blood sugar. This study has suggested that physical activity along with local medicine will have greater impact to diabetic cure. By using interviews and self-report questionnaires in a sample of adults with T2DM the my study will examine the effectiveness of local medicine and will also discover regular physical activity as the key part of managing diabetic along with proper meal planning, and taking local medicine. In addition, recent clinical mechanistic trials have shown increased insulin and decreased DPP4 levels in human serum after consumption of a local Palauan plant Panacea

The Genetic and Environmental Etiology of Schizophrenia in Palau

Schizophrenia is a chronic, severe, and disabling brain disorder that has been affecting people throughout the world. There is an established worldwide 1% average prevalence of schizophrenia; however there are high degrees of variability between different regions. Palau, an oceanic nation located in Micronesia, has an abnormally high prevalence rate of schizophrenia at 1.99%. When separated by gender, women have abnormal prevalence rate of 1.24%, while the men have a high prevalence rate of 2.77%, which is over twice the average worldwide. There has been a plethora of research conducted over the years to determine the genetic and environmental etiology of schizophrenia in Palau. Palau’s somewhat isolated and small population offer the advantage of a valuable insular population for the study of genetic etiology of schizophrenia because there may be fewer susceptibility genes for schizophrenia than in heterogeneous populations throughout the world. Recent studies have highlighted that schizophrenia in Palau is a complex genetic disease, yet is also greatly influenced by certain environmental factors. As part of the research, blood and tissue samples from 160 schizophrenic Palauan patients were sampled. In addition, 400 relatives of the patients were reviewed and shown as unaffected by the disease; although there were first and second-degree relatives who were affected. The patients were also interviewed frequently about relevant matters, such as their diet and daily activities. By examining these studies, I was able to determine that many environmental factors may be involved with the disease, such as exposure to viruses, heavy marijuana use, malnutrition before birth, and other not yet known psychosocial factors. Because of Palau’s intricately, interconnected families and small population and isolation, it has a high prevalence rate of schizophrenia